June 9, 2008

Dear Brethren,

On March 24, Beverly and I went to Manaus to take care of a number of health problems that could not be handled here in Cruzeiro do Sul. We arrived that Monday night and the next day I had knee surgery. This knee had been hindering my work for over ten years. It was time to correct it before it got any worse. All went well and recovery has been smooth. We also had some skin problems to work on. Bev had a cyst removed from her hand and I had some more treatment on a chronic problem that started late December. Bev's problem is solved. Mine is far from over. Both of my doctors (surgeon and dermatologist) want to see me again this month, but that is a little iffy right now. Hopefully our insurance will cover most of our treatment. One thing they will not cover is the cost to get to Manaus. Our tickets cost over $1,500 round trip, so if any of you would like to help, it would be a big boost to us. David and Pennie Hatcher graciously kept us in their home the whole time, which saved us a bundle. Paul and Wanda Hatcher also offered us a place to stay. The factor that tipped the scales was only a flight of stairs! We are so grateful to all of our long time friends who take such good care of us.

I have now been back home for just over a month. My physical therapy and exercise program is going well. I have also lost twelve pounds this month, so I am almost back to normal. Things are not quite normal though because my doctor will not let me go back to my river trips for another two months. In fact, I missed out on our last medical mission trip. Zico and our team spent eleven days up the Juruá River. They treated almost a thousand people and there were twenty-six people saved. Believe me, the hardest part of my recovery is not being in on that kind of fun!

Things at First Baptist have been very slow. I came back to find that several members have fallen into sin and the church is suffering. Even one of our local missionaries fell into adultery. My members and I have been very busy trying to work with these folks to see their recovery and correction. Our attendance had dropped off and all month there had been only one man saved. Yesterday we started to see some recovery. We had normal crowds both in the morning and evening services. We had three members come confessing sin, one request for baptism, a couple came by letter, and two professions of faith. By the way, the missionary came before the church on Friday night to confess his sin. I am working with this couple to help them survive this tragedy. He has been removed from the ministry. He has a long list of people he must seek out to ask their pardon. He is even at risk to be physically harmed by some of these people, so he has a long hard road ahead. Please remember us and First Baptist in your prayers.

Our Christian school took a dramatic turn this year. The state became desperate for more room for students that they could not place. They approached us to help them out. They offered to let us select the extra staff we would need among the many members of our church who already are employed by the state and the state would fork over an added $30,000 to remodel some of our classrooms. So overnight we doubled our staff. Our student body went from 100 to over 600! Of course, we were concerned that the state might want to interfere with the school. We talked to other private school owners who did the same thing and they all said that it would be safe. We shall see. The initial agreement is for one year.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.

In Christ,

Mike Creiglow